1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a table engageable support for the head support or the cushion used for the head of an anesthetized patient. More particularly it relates to a tray which will either cooperatively mount upon struts projecting from the table used for supporting anesthetized patients, or engage the table by placing the tray portion upon the top of the operating table. The device has a top surface adapted to cooperatively engage with the pillow or pillow holder used to support the patient's head. It also can be configured with projections engaged with the side edges of the tray which then may engage with table struts commonly used on some tables for patients placed in the face down or in the prone position.
2. Prior Art
Surgeries upon patients in the prone position present a number of patient care challenges to the anesthesiologist and surgical staff. Once a patient undergoing a surgery requiring general anesthesia is anesthetized, that patient is essentially in a coma like state. In such a state, noxious stimuli to the patient's body and skin, such as pressure or pain, which would normally cause an awake patient to move to relieve the stimulus, no longer causes such a reaction. Consequently, patients under general anesthesia are especially threatened by a number of factors, other than the surgery itself, which arise during such surgical procedures.
One hazard which requires constant vigilance by the surgical staff to protect against injury is the threat of eye damage. Inadvertent pressure upon the ocular structures of a patient for just a matter of minutes can cause extreme damage or blindness to the eye. As noted above, because the anesthetized patient is in a coma like state, the discomfort of facial compression upon the eye, which would normally cause an awake patient to move and relieve that pressure, fails to alert the anesthetized patient. Care must be taken by an ever alert surgical staff to inspect for possible pressure points about the ocular structures of the patient and to move the patient's face to prevent eye damage.
Other compression injuries can occur to the anesthetized patent's forehead and chin areas or to the neck if the head is misaligned with the back when the patient is placed on the table for an extended period. Here again, the constant pressure upon those areas of the face or the neck bones and nerves, caused by the weight of the patient's own head, if not relieved by movement of the face to allow blood flow thereto, can cause localized ischemia to the chin and forehead area. Since the anesthetized patient does not react to the body's cues of discomfort preceding injury, the risk of harm in a matter of minutes to these areas is great.
Currently, there are a number of conventional methods to support the head and protect the eyes and face of a patient from compression injuries during surgery which require the patient to be placed in a prone, face down position for the long periods of time involved in surgery.
One of the best systems available uses a protective cushion which cooperatively engages with a helmet casing which is placed upon a mounting surface such as an operating table top which is best shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,112,333 (Mazzei, et al.) and 6,490,737 (Mazzei, et al.) which should be incorporated herein for reference. The system disclosed in these patents uses a cushion shaped to engage the patient's face on one side and dimensioned for cooperative engagement with a casing on the opposite side of the cushion. The casing is designed for mounting upon a surface such as the operating table thereby providing complete support to the head of the patient and virtually eliminating the dangers to the face and nerves of the patient during long operations.